Screening of fluorescent microbes using microfabricated device
The microfabricated chip with high-density microwells addresses the inefficiencies of existing bacterial detection methods by enabling rapid, cost-effective, and accurate identification and separation of fluorescent bacteria through cultivation and fluorescence imaging.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- US17/555095
- Authority / Receiving Office
- US · United States
- Patent Type
- Patents(United States)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2020-12-17
- Filing Date
- 2021-12-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-31
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-06-06
AI Technical Summary
Current bacterial detection methods, such as PCR, gram-staining, and Raman spectroscopy, are time-consuming, expensive, and prone to false positives, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) is complex and costly for large-scale separation of fluorescent bacteria.
A microfabricated chip with high-density microwells is used to cultivate and screen fluorescent bacteria by loading cells into microwells, incubating for growth, and detecting fluorescence through imaging to identify fluorescent cells, optionally with metabolic indicators for activity assessment.
The method enables efficient, cost-effective, and accurate identification and separation of fluorescent bacteria at a high throughput, ensuring single-cell isolation and reducing false positives.